Sunday, June 08, 2008

If you use a feed reader, I suggest adding Azarmehr. Here he translates a piece about the way Iranian clerics are enriching themselves. It's reminiscent of the worst type of African kleptocracy:

1- One of the clerics came and said he has a disabled son and he wants to build a rehabilitation centre where he can treat his son there. We registered the centre for him. Then he asked for financial support, demanding the Fars Marble stone mines, one of the best in the world, and after a while he said this is not enough and asked for another mine in Zanjan. He now has ownership of four mines to his name as an excuse to support his rehabilitation centre. At this point the students demand to know the cleric's name, Palizar answers 'Ayatollah Emami Kashani', member of the Guardian Council and one of the four Friday Prayer sermon Imams of Tehran.

2- Another Ayatollah came to the Supreme Leader and said he wants to build a law faculty in Qom for women. He got the permission and asked for the ownership of Dena Tyre making factory for financial backing of the faculty. Nematzadeh said they can have the factory for 126 Billion, the real value was 600 Billion. But they kept writing letters saying they want further discount, at the end a factory which was worth 600 Billion, was sold for 10 Billion. Even then they said we don't have all the money to pay now and will pay 80% of it by installments. It was agreed to but this wasn't enough discount for them either and after all that, they said we don't have the 20% to pay now either, we will pay it after we have sold the factory buildings.'So as easy as that, the Ayatollah took ownership of the factory and then sold it on the stock market. 'Again the students demand for Palizar to name the cleric. Palizar replies 'Ayatollah Yazdi, the previous head of the judiciary and the present secretary of the Clerical Association of Qom Seminaries. Responsible for the closure of so many publications during Khatami's era.

3- Carrying on with the same Ayatollah Yazdi, Palizar continues, 'Again Ayatollah Yazdi writes a letter to Foroozesh, the Minister of Industries, saying my son, Hamid, is out of work at the moment. Can you facilitate things so my son can have part in the export of timber made from Caspian forests. At the time Hamid Yazdi was a director at the judiciary, in other words he wasn't out of work. Thus he plundered the Caspian forests. Then they went and arrested the local people who had perhaps stored only enough wood for their fire logs, which led to the protests outside the prisons.'

4- Car making factory, Iran Khodro, was forced to give new Persia cars to judiciary judges at half price, in instalments, and most didn't even bother pay their instalments. But this made many more to also want a piece of the cake. For example the Nahjolbalagheh Foundation, came and said why shouldn't we get 500 vehicles with the same facilities. Now who do you think this Nahjolbalaghe Foundation belongs to? It belongs to Nategh Nouri (Supreme Leader's former favourite candidate for presidency, Rafighdoost (Former revolutionary Guards commander and head of the Dispossessed Foundation, Asgaroladi (member of the super wealthy Bazaar Merchant Coalition Society), Hossein Dinparvar and Moezi.

5- Then the Persepolis football club run by Abedini and another Foundation also said we want half price cars. The said Foundation is owned by Hojjat-ol_Islam Fallahain, previous intelligence minister during the extra judicial killings of dissidents like Daryoush and Parvaneh Forouhar, and Ayatollah Alam Al-Hoda, who recently made the remark that 'Women who are not observing the Hejab properly are foot soldiers of America'

6- Twelve mines in Khorrasan province are owned by Ayatollah Vaeze Tabassi, whose own son is involved in what has become known as Al-Mokaseb case. A corruption case which was investigated by the Islamic judiciary for two years and all the accused including Ayatollah Tabassi's son were all acquitted.

7- Then Palizar mentions the big time smuggler at Payam airport who has over 1100 cases of smuggling goods being investigated by the judiciary. Palizar continues with frustration 'but we are still unable to arrest him, because he is under the protection of Ayatollah Nateq Nuri.'

8- Palizar talks about tobacco and cigarette smuggling and how this large scale smuggling has grounded Iran's tobacco industry to a halt and forced thousands of its workers out of employment. Without naming names, Palizar also talks about the extent of narcotics use in the Islamic Republic, and implicity talks about high ranking clerics also being involved in the distribution of narcotics in the country.

9- Palizar then talks about two aviation crashes, which led to the deaths of war veterans Dadman and Kazemi. Dadman's revolutionary credentials were impeccable. He had taken part in the Tabriz riots against the Shah, taken part in the US embassy hostage taking, served in the front line against Iraqi invasion, even in the Islamic Republic led Mecca pilgrims protests which led to the Saudis killing 400 protesters as just a few points to mention in Dadman's revolutionary CV.

Palizar says unequivocally that Dadman's crash was deliberate. He claims there is a 1000 page case held with the judiciary about the crash. (He does not however mention who was behind the crash). Regarding the crash that led to Commander Kazemi's death however, Palizar said Martyr Kazemi had closed down the Hormoz mines for irregularities and although he says in this case he has no clear evidence, it was after the closure of the mine that his plane crashed. The Hormoz mines are owned by Ayatollah Khazaeli.

Palizar also talks about the corruption of Rafsanjani's family, and mentions their interests in one third of the Kish island but more notably their interest in an oil company - owned by Rafsanjani's family including his sister who resides in Canada.

These are the unelected rulers of what John Simpson and the BBC describe as a valid form of democracy.